Acoustics and Sound Control in Modern Open Offices
Noise is consistently the most cited complaint in open-plan workplaces. Across two decades of Gensler's workplace research, it ranks as one of the top barriers to employee focus and satisfaction. That gap between how open offices look in a design rendering and how they actually function comes down almost entirely to acoustic planning.
Most businesses approach this as a single problem: too much noise. The real picture is more complicated. There are actually two distinct acoustic challenges in any open office, and solving one without the other means the space still doesn't work.
The first is acoustic comfort, general noise levels that make it hard to concentrate. The second is speech privacy, whether conversations stay reasonably contained or travel freely across the floor. A lounge area generating ambient buzz affects acoustic comfort. A sensitive HR conversation happening in an open meeting room is a speech privacy failure. Both are acoustic problems. Neither is solved by the same intervention.
Getting this right is what separates offices that perform from offices that look good in photos but drive people to book conference rooms just to think.
Why Hard Surfaces Make Everything Worse
Most commercial building shells, exposed concrete, glass partitions, hard tile, and uncovered ceilings are acoustic nightmares. Sound reflects off hard surfaces rather than being absorbed, which means a conversation at one end of the floor is clearly audible at the other end. Volume compounds as more people are on calls simultaneously.
This is a base-building issue, not an occupant behavior issue. The way a space is fitted out determines whether those reflective surfaces get addressed or whether they stay live throughout the working day.
Two metrics matter here. The NRC (Noise Reduction Coefficient) measures how much sound a material absorbs on a scale of 0 to 1; hard concrete reflects nearly all sound, while quality acoustic panels run NRC 0.65 to 0.95. The STC (Sound Transmission Class) measures how much sound a partition blocks. Standard drywall has an STC of around 34, while properly specified acoustic glass or demountable walls can reach STC 45 to 50.
Most open offices have neither addressed nor measured either. The result is exactly what employees experience: a floor that amplifies noise rather than managing it.
The 3 Approaches to Acoustic Design
Good acoustic planning uses three complementary strategies, and the best results come from combining all three.
Absorb. Acoustic panels, ceiling baffles, upholstered surfaces, and carpet tiles reduce how much sound bounces around the space. Panel placement matters — walls adjacent to high-activity zones, ceiling treatments over workstation areas, and soft flooring in open areas all address reflection at the source. For reference, carpet tiles absorb two to three times more sound energy than polished concrete. This was a specific consideration in the VersaPay fit-out, where Sensyst combined polished concrete floors with acoustic ceilings to balance the aesthetic the client wanted with the noise performance the space required.
Block. Partitions, enclosed rooms, acoustic pods, and demountable wall systems create physical separation between zones. Full enclosure is the most effective approach for speech privacy — phone booths and acoustic pods create completely contained environments for calls and focused work, while glass-fronted meeting rooms provide visual transparency without sacrificing acoustic separation. This is not just a comfort consideration: for companies handling sensitive information — legal, financial, HR — speech privacy is a compliance issue as much as a design one.
Cover. Sound masking systems introduce a low-level background sound (typically calibrated white or pink noise) that raises the ambient noise floor just enough to make individual conversations less intelligible without adding to the perception of noise. It's a counterintuitive solution that works: a space with appropriate ambient sound masking actually feels quieter than one with silence, because background quiet makes every interruption more jarring.
How Hybrid Work Changed the Acoustic Equation
Before hybrid work, the acoustic challenge was primarily about managing ambient noise between coworkers. Today, video calls have added a second dimension.
Background noise during calls doesn't just affect the person in the office it affects everyone on the other end. Poor acoustics in an office translates directly to a degraded experience for remote colleagues and clients. Offices that haven't addressed acoustic performance since 2020 are often running call-heavy work in spaces that weren't designed for it.
The practical response is more enclosed space, not less. Acoustic pods and phone booths are placed throughout the floor, roughly one per 10 to 12 people in a hybrid-heavy team — absorb both the call volume and the ambient noise it would otherwise contribute to the floor. They're one of the most direct investments in acoustic performance available, particularly in spaces where full construction isn't on the table.
Acoustic Planning at Sensyst
At Sensyst, acoustic performance is part of the brief from day one — not a finishing detail applied after the layout is set.
During the planning phase, we assess how people actually work: how many calls happen daily, which teams require confidential conversations, and how circulation routes relate to focused work zones. During design, layout decisions, zone placement, and material specifications are all informed by acoustic intent — not made independently and then retrofitted. During construction, acoustic treatments are integrated into the build rather than applied as surface fixes afterward. And during furnishing, product selection reinforces the acoustic strategy, from high-backed seating and acoustic pods to panel systems and soft goods.
The result is a space where the acoustic performance is built in, not bolted on. If you're planning a new fit-out or rethinking how your current office manages noise, get in touch. Acoustic planning is one of the first conversations worth having.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) What is the most effective way to reduce noise in an open office?
The most effective approach combines absorption, blocking, and sound masking, not just one intervention. Acoustic panels and ceiling baffles reduce sound reflection. Enclosed rooms, acoustic pods, and partitions block sound between zones. Sound masking systems raise the ambient noise floor so individual conversations become less intelligible. Most open offices only address one of these, which is why the problem persists even after acoustic panels are installed.
2) What is the difference between acoustic comfort and speech privacy in an office?
Acoustic comfort refers to general noise levels whether the overall sound environment allows people to focus. Speech privacy refers to whether specific conversations can be overheard a separate problem that requires different solutions. An office can have reasonable acoustic comfort (low ambient noise) but poor speech privacy (every phone call audible across the floor). Addressing both requires thinking about absorption and blocking as distinct objectives.
3) Do I need to renovate to improve office acoustics?
Not necessarily. Acoustic panels, ceiling baffles, acoustic pods, and sound masking systems can all be added to an existing space without significant construction. The most impactful improvements often come from furniture and installation rather than structural changes. Adding soft surfaces, enclosed focus booths, and high-backed seating can meaningfully reduce noise in an open plan without a full fit-out. That said, for spaces with hard surfaces throughout (concrete, glass, exposed ceilings), addressing the base-building acoustic profile through the design and build phase produces better long-term results.
4) How many phone booths or acoustic pods does an open office need?
A common benchmark is one acoustic pod or enclosed phone space per 10 to 12 people for hybrid-heavy teams. The right number depends on call volume, the nature of the work, and how much focus work happens in the office versus at home. Under-provisioning enclosed spaces is one of the most consistent planning mistakes. The pods are always in demand, and the floor suffers acoustically without them.
5) How does Sensyst approach acoustic design in GTA office projects?
Acoustic performance is built into Sensyst's planning and design process from the start. That means layout decisions, zone placement, material specifications, and furniture selection are all made with acoustic intent rather than treating sound control as an afterthought. For spaces where speech privacy is a compliance consideration (legal, financial, healthcare), acoustic planning is treated as a core brief requirement, not an optional upgrade.